Courtesy: Shout! Factory/Shout! Factory Kids
In just a few weeks, Shout! Factory Kids will release its latest collection of episodes from Discovery Family’s hit series Transformers Rescue Bots. Transformers Rescue Bots: Return of the Heroes will be released Tuesday, May 12th in stores and online. Whether viewers are familiar with this family friendly incarnation of Hasbro’s beloved Transformers franchise or not, it can be said that it proves just as enjoyable for first time viewers as for those that are more familiar with the series. The main reason for this is the writing behind each of the collection’s five episodes. The stories themselves are tried and true. There are also smaller elements of the writing such as the dialogue that makes the episodes just as entertaining. The series’ animation remains the same in these episodes. Though, there is one episode in which the show’s animators get to show off their talents a little more as Blades and Cody enter a virtual reality video game. Audiences will enjoy this slight change of pace from the animation that they have become so accustomed to seeing from the series. It’s one more positive to the whole of this set that makes it worth the addition to any Transformers fan’s collection regardless of his or her age. Last but not least of all worth noting of this latest release is the work of the voice cast once again. LeVar Burton, Jason Marsden, Mauriche LeMarche and company are spot on in each episode as are the actors responsible for bringing the Rescue Bots to life. All three elements make this new collection of episodes a hit for Transformers fans of any age. Collectively, all three elements show why once again, Shout! Factory Kids, along with Discovery Family and Hasbro Studios, has released another DVD that is an easy candidate for any critic’s list of the year’s best new releases for children and families in Transformers Rescue Bots: Return of the Heroes.
Transformers Rescue Bots: Return Of The Heroes is another welcome return for Shout! Factory Kids and for this hit series from Hasbro Studios and Discovery Family. The main, and strongest, reason that it is such a welcome return is its writing. This applies not just to the episodes culled for the disc but for the actual writing within the episodes, too. The episodes themselves present plot lines that are tried and true. There is the standard plot line of the good guys being brainwashed in “Rise of the Heroes.” In “Bot To The Future,” audiences see the Rescue Bots, along with Cody go back in time and set things right so that their original timeline can be re-established and the bad guy defeated. “A Virtual Disaster” tackles the topic of technology gone awry as Blades and Cody go into a virtual video game, only to fin themselves trapped in the game after a freak accident. “Bumblebee To The Rescue,” the disc’s opening episode, sees Blades having an identity crisis of sorts when legendary Autobot Bumblee comes to Earth to investigate a meteorite crash that is affecting the Rescue Bots. Knowing Bumblebee’s legacy, Blades doesn’t like being rescued by him. He wants to prove to Bumblebee that he’s not helpless and to impress Bumblebee. These are stories that have been used plenty of times in any number of series before this one. But even used in this setting, the stories are still just as enjoyable as they were in those other shows. That could be because of the execution of each story line. The stories have been updated and adapted to the series to make them completely entertaining and in turn fully engaging.
The execution of the stories in this collection makes for plenty of enjoyment for audiences of all ages. On a deeper level, the writing within the episodes coupled with the execution of the stories themselves, makes for even more enjoyment. One example of how the writing within the episodes makes them more enjoyable can be pinpointed in the episode “A Virtual Disaster.” Before Blades ends up being caught in the virtual video game with Cody, he is helping rescue an unconscious skier on a mountainside. As he is hovering over the mountainside, Dani (Lacey Chabert) tells him he has made the exact same maneuver hundreds of times. Baldes’ reply to Dani: “Yeah, but not on a snow day.” His grasp of the term snow day is itself entertaining. At the same time, Heatwave makes a typical hero remark saying, “looks like it’s time to play in the snow.” If that line alone doesn’t get some laughs, then nothing will. Blades’ comment about whether or not Cody and his family are leading the Rescue Bots into a trap while they are brainwashed in “Rise of the Heroes” will get just as much of a laugh, considering his character’s worrywart personality. There is also Chase’s constant deadpan delivery about so many situations such as his inability to control his reactions in “Bumblebee to the Rescue.” He tells Cody and the others that he can’t move or control himself in any other way. This is linked directly to the work of the cast’s voicework, which will be discussed later. Again, his deadpan delivery at such an important situation makes for so many laughs. It’s one more example of how the writing within each of this collection’s episodes adds to the episodes themselves, proving once again why the writing incorporated into each of this set’s collection is so important to the whole of the disc and its enjoyment.
The writing incorporated into each of the disc’s presented episodes proves clearly both on n macro and micro level its importance to the whole of Transformers Rescue Bots: Return of the Heroes. The writing is just as certain in this collection of episodes to entertain audiences of all ages and keep said audiences fully engaged throughout each episode. While the writing is pivotal to the enjoyment of this collection, it is just one part of what should be considered. The animation incorporated into the presented episodes should be noted, too. More specifically the animation incorporated into “A Virtual Disaster” should be noted. This episode is one of those rare times when those responsible for bringing the series to life artistically changed things up. Rather than using the artistic style used throughout the series, said individuals got to stretch their wings, utilizing a completely different artistic style. that style is used when Blades and Cody go into the virtual video game. It actually throws back to the days of hand drawn animation. That is evident from the definition of both Blades and Cody. Their color is much richer. And neither figure looks as rigid, stylistically speaking, as they do outside the game. Their look is more smooth for lack of better wording. The same can be said of their surroundings, too. Regardless of their familiarity with the series, viewers will clearly notice the difference in animation styles. It’s a nice, welcome change of pace especially for those that are more familiar with the series. And it makes for one more reason that audiences will enjoy this latest collection of episodes.
That writing and animation incorporated into Shout! Factory Kids’ new Transformers Rescue Bots collection each play their own important part in its enjoyment. For all of their importance, they are not the disc’s only positives. The work of the series’ voice cast once again makes for its own share of enjoyment once again. As already noted, Chase’s deadpan personality and Blades’ worrywart make quite the character contrast. D.C. Douglas’ and Parvesh Cheena’s handling of the two rescue bots respectively is to thank for that continued character style. The same can be said of Heatwave’s voice, Steve Blum. The actors have developed such a clear style with their characters. And it shows time and again as is evident in their dialogue within each of this collection’s episodes. Jason Marsden takes a slightly lesser role in these episodes. But even when he does get some screen time, actor Jason Marsden gets in his own laughs. By comparison, lead voice actor Elan Garfias keeps audiences engaged thanks to his work voicing Cody Burns. Cody is just as confident as ever in these episodes showing once again that one doesn’t have to be a grown up or even the tallest in order to be confident and a leader. Garias’ interpretation of Cody’s role in each script shows once again that even the smallest person can be the biggest on the inside. Yet again, whether for Garfias’ voice work or that of his cast mates, it can be argued with ease in watching these episodes that the work of the Transformers Rescue Bots cast plays just as important part in the enjoyment of these episodes as those presented in any of Shout! Factory Kids’ previous collections from the hit Discovery Family series.
The work of the voice cast in the episodes culled for Shout! Factory Kids’ new Transformers Rescue Bots collection is its own important part of the presentation’s whole. By itself, it only goes so ar in making the episodes worth the watch. The addition of the writing both on a macro and micro level adds even more enjoyment. And the rare break from the series’ standard animation in at least one episode shows the series’ potential even more. All three elements combined, they show exactly why Transformers Rescue Bots: Return of the Heroes is one more collection from Shout! Factory Kids, Discovery Family and Hasbro Studios that is an easy candidate for any critic’s list of the year’s best new releases for children and families. It will be available Tuesday, May 12th in stores and online and can be pre-ordered online now direct from Shout! Factory’s online store at https://www.shoutfactory.com/kids/kids-animation/transformers-rescue-bots-return-of-the-heroes at a discounted price of $13.93. More information on this and other titles from Shout! Factory Kids is available online at:
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